If business keeps taking you back to the same cities, do you spend your free time there revisiting the same old haunts and/or hanging around your hotel? For a bit of urban adventure, why not check out a city’s up-and-coming hot neighborhoods that are loved by locals but still undiscovered by visitors?

Travel publisher Lonely Planet solicited input from its experts and local contributors on the subject, and it came up with a list of uber-cool neighborhoods for trend-seeking travelers. Even if you’re not a hipster, hopping an Uber to these off-the-beaten-path districts could at least make you sound kind of cool and in-the-know to your colleagues back home.

Here are its Top 10 picks, with comments from Lonely Planeteers:

Sunset Park, New York “The success of art and commerce behemoth Industry City has shone a light onto one of Brooklyn’s most exciting under-the-radar neighborhoods. Another favorite from Lonely Planet’s global neighborhood list, Sunset Park sits below Park Slope on the south and western borders of Green-Wood Cemetery, and hosts a heady mix of cultures and traditions…Set on one of the highest hills in Brooklyn, it offers spectacular views of lower Manhattan.” – Robert Balkovich

Capitol Riverfront & Yards Park, Washington DC “One of DC’s most recent reincarnations, the former Navy Yard, a commercial wharf in the 19th Century, has been completely overhauled. Formerly one of the grittier parts of the US capital, the riverfront area began to change in 2008, when it became home to Nationals Park, DC’s major league baseball stadium. These days, there are more reasons to visit here than for sport alone; the entire waterfront precinct now features an attractive boardwalk, small riverside parks and a handful of top-notch eateries.” – Kate Armstrong

River North (RiNo), Denver “Even as the Mile High City expands, RiNo still clings to its punk-rock roots. You’ll find it in the street murals that seem to pop up overnight, in the experimental galleries that play open house on Friday nights, and in the innovative food halls and rockabilly microbrews that play host to the city’s young, bold and tattooed. [RiNo] is playing center stage for the resurgent arts and cultural scenes that have transformed D-Town into the cultural dynamo of the American West.” – Greg Benchwick

Point Loma, San Diego “Point Loma is the conservative neighbor of hippy Ocean Beach, with its sports fishing centers, yacht clubs, and naval base…[it’s] home to a mishmash of New England-style clapboard houses, tropical- themed hotels, and exquisite modern hilltop homes with panoramic views of the city and harbor below. It’s common to see members of the armed forces in uniform around the sleepy town, but foodies also gravitate to Point Loma for the outstanding seafood brought to shore daily by boats, and served in local restaurants.” – Jade Bremner

Frelard, Seattle “A highlight from Lonely Planet’s global list, this new community has slowly taken shape in the space between two of Seattle’s most popular neighborhoods. First coined by Seattle restaurateur Ethan Stowell, owner of Frelard Pizza Company, the name Frelard reflects those of its neighbors: Fre(mont) and (Bal)lard…It’s the perfect place to refuel on a day spent exploring beyond Seattle’s main tourist sights.” – Valerie Stimac

Montavilla, Portland “On the far side of Mount Tabor Park in southeast Portland is the quietly cool Montavilla neighborhood…Its core is just a half-dozen blocks along Stark Street, lined with shops, restaurants and bars. The lynchpin of this stretch is the Academy Theater, a second-run cinema (built in 1948, restored and reopened in 2006) … Fifteen or so years ago, this neighborhood had a reputation for crime…Now there’s a busy Sunday farmers market, a handful of craft-cocktail and beer bars, cute little independent shops and a dive bar (Montavilla Station) known for its weekend blues jams.” – Becky Ohlsen

South 1st Street, Austin“At first glance, South 1st Street looks like a ho-hum stretch of cottages, food trucks and weathered buildings. But don’t be fooled by the low-key façade … Chatty locals keep Bouldin Creek Café and the indie coffee shops buzzing while beloved Torchy’s Tacos serves “damn good tacos” from its very first location – a trailer – all day long… It’s an appealing mix of old and new – and a stark contrast to trendy South Congress Avenue one block east.” – Amy Balfour

Avondale, Chicago “Avondale offers no hotels or tourist sights. It’s mostly humble two-flat homes and the occasional smokestack or steeple popping up. But throughout this working-class beat on Chicago’s northwest side, groovy things are brewing…Get here soon though, because Avondale teeters on the edge. Hipster ‘hoods nibble at its borders, poised to spill over. And that may change its scruffy, artsy, lived-in magic.” – Karla Zimmerman

East Liberty & Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh “Pittsburgh won’t be the first American city to beep on your cool-o-meter, but its eastern neighborhoods might just be the sleeper hit your hipster sensibilities have been craving…the influx of moneyed millennials has willed a new food and beverage scene into existence, led by the Ace Hotel, which opened in a once-derelict YMCA in 2015 – all of which is making the Steel City’s reputation considerably less rusty.” – Brandon Presser

East Nashville, Nashville“Music City is known for its country crooners and the honky tonks on Lower Broadway, but just across the Cumberland River in East Nashville, residents march to the beat of a different drum…there are more tattoos, street murals and alternative music venues on this side of town…And if you came to Nashville for hot chicken, the East side has you covered as well, with Pepperfire, Bolton’s and the place that started it all, Prince’s.” – Evan Godt

Southwest Airlines is adding new San Jose routes next spring. (Image: Chris McGinnis)

We have a lot of airline route news to catch up on following our August break, so we’ll start with domestic developments. Southwest’s spring schedule additions include several new routes out of San Jose and Sacramento; Alaska also starts new service at San Jose; United will join Alaska in flying out of a new Pacific Northwest airport, and adds a seasonal ski market from San Francisco; American will start new service from Denver, and will put a wide-body on a San Francisco transcon route; Delta’s Salt Lake City hub gets a new spoke, and Las Vegas gets more Hawaii flights; JetBlue grows at Atlanta and Boston; Spirit adds a Las Vegas transcon route; and Frontier expands at San Antonio.

The battle for California is paying off for Golden State travelers with tons of new routes and low fares. Southwest Airlines last week unveiled plans for significant expansion in California next spring. On April 8, the airline will kick off new daily service from San Jose to Boise, St. Louis, Austin, Spokane and Houston Hobby, along with new daily flights from Sacramento to Austin and St. Louis. Southwest will follow that up on May 6 by launching new daily service to Orlando from both San Jose and Sacramento. Officials at SJC said Southwest will also expand existing routes there starting April 8, adding a second daily roundtrip to both Chicago Midway and Dallas Love Field, a fifth to Seattle, a sixth to Phoenix, and a fifth and sixth daily flight from SJC to Portland., along with new Sunday-only service to Albuquerque and New Orleans.

In Florida, Southwest on April 8 will add three daily roundtrips between Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville and daily non-stops between Milwaukee and Houston Hobby. On March 8, Southwest is due to discontinue its non-stop flights between Dallas Love Field and Milwaukee, and between Philadelphia and West Palm Beach, and will seasonally suspend service between Oakland-Tucson, Washington Reagan National-Ft. Myers, and Minneapolis/St. Paul-Ft. Lauderdale.

United will join Alaska in flying out of Washington State’s Paine Field next year. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Travelers in San Francisco and Denver will get a new option for flights to the Seattle area next year with United’s announcement that it will add service from those cities to Paine Field, 23 miles north of Seattle. Starting in the fall of 2018, United said, it plans to start offering six flights a day from Paine to its SFO and DEN hubs. Last spring, Alaska Airlines announced plans to begin the first commercial airline service from Paine Field in the fall of next year, although it didn’t say which routes it would serve. In other route news, United will begin twice-weekly seasonal service on December 18 between San Francisco and Vail/Eagle, Colorado, with CRJ700s operated by SkyWest. Elsewhere, United/SkyWest on November 1 will begin service six days a week to Clarksburg, West Virginia, from both Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles with CRJ200s.

Speaking of Alaska Airlines, that carrier last week kicked off new routes at San Jose, adding daily flights to both Austin and Tucson, using the popular Embraer E175 regional jets. That gives Alaska 31 daily departures at SJC to 18 destinations.

SJC is expanding, adding two new gates (29 & 30) at the southern end of the Terminal B for use by Alaska Air (Image: SJC)

On October 5, American Airlines is planning to replace the A321 currently used on one of its daily Philadelphia-San Francisco flights (AA722/723) with a wide-body Airbus A330-200. The bigger plane is currently scheduled to keep flying the route through December 14. Next year, beginning June 7, American plans to operate a daily summer flight between Denver and New York JFK with a 737-800. In other news, The Dallas News reports that American will offer 2-4-2 premium economy seating on its Hawaii routes from Dallas/Ft. Worth, using retrofitted 777-200s. The roomier seats are available from DFW to Honolulu and Maui starting in December, and from DFW to Kona beginning next June.

On December 21, Delta plans to begin new daily service between its Salt Lake City hub and Milwaukee, using an E175 operated by SkyWest. Delta is also extending its planned Las Vegas-Honolulu 757 service, which was originally scheduled for daily holiday flights from December 21 to January 14. Now they will continue as Saturday-only service from January 15, increasing to three flights a week February 16.

JetBlue is adding three more Atlanta routes. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue finally broke into the Atlanta market last March, when it started flying five times a day from ATL to its Boston focus city. And now JetBlue has plans to double its Atlanta presence by adding five more daily flights there. Effective March 8, 2018, JetBlue will start flying from Atlanta to New York JFK twice a day, to Ft. Lauderdale twice a day, and to Orlando once a day. Elsewhere, JetBlue announced it will begin new service between Boston and Syracuse on January 4, offering one daily roundtrip with an Embraer 190.

In the ultra-low-cost carrier arena, Spirit Airlines on November 9 will begin daily A320 service between Las Vegas and Newark. And Frontier Airlines will start operating four flights a week from San Antonio to Washington Dulles on October 6, followed by four a week between San Antonio and Ontario, California beginning October 13.

You can now use your fingerprints instead of your boarding pass to access Delta flights at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

Soon, you’ll be able to use fingerprints to board any domestic Delta flight. And if other airlines continue to copy Delta’s moves, we’ll likely see fingerprints-as-boarding-passes become commonplace.

Back in May Delta launched a test at DCA’s Sky Club where passengers could use their fingerprints to get into the lounge. Today it expanded the option to gates where those enrolled in CLEAR can forego a boarding pass and use their fingerprints as proof of identity to board. Later this summer passengers will be able to use their fingerprints to check bags.

For now, this is just a pilot test (and is optional), but Delta says, “customers throughout our domestic network could start seeing this capability in a matter of months – not years.”

A Delta fingerprint-reading kiosk at the gate (Image: Delta)

During the pilot, SkyMiles members who are also enrolled in CLEAR are eligible for the biometric boarding pass experience. CLEAR will capture and use both biometric and SkyMiles information to identify customers at bag drop, Delta Sky Club entry and boarding.

If you were wondering why Delta made an investment in CLEAR last year, you now have an answer. If you’ve not signed up for CLEAR, what are you waiting for? CLEAR membership discounts are now offered to Delta SkyMiles members, based on their status. Standard membership in CLEAR is $179 per year. Delta Diamond Medallion members get complimentary CLEAR enrollment, while Platinum, Gold and Silver Medallion members it for just $79. Even general members get a nice discount: annual membership for just $99. Interested? You can sign up with your Delta SkyMiles status here.

“We’re rapidly moving toward a day when your fingerprint, iris or face will become the only ID you’ll need for any number of transactions throughout a given day,” said Gil West, Delta’s chief operating officer.

In domestic route news, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America provide details of their new San Francisco flights; American Airlines adds routes at Washington Reagan National and Phoenix, but drops one from Los Angeles; Delta adds a pair of Florida routes; OneJet expands at Pittsburgh; and Frontier will resume seasonal Cleveland-West Coast service.

Alaska Airlines has announced details of the new San Francisco services it mentioned earlier this week. On June 14, Alaska’s Virgin America unit will begin daily A320 flights from SFO to Orlando – but you’ll have to wake up early, because they depart SFO at 6:30 a.m.

On June 15, Alaska will expand its California Corridor presence by launching three daily SFO-Orange County roundtrips, increasing to four on July 18. (You might recall that Virgin America jumped into the SFO-SNA market in 2009, only to jump back out less than a year later in the face of stiff competition from Southwest.). Also on July 18, Alaska adds a pair of daily San Francisco-Minneapolis-St. Paul roundtrips. The Orange County and MSP flights will use 76-seat SkyWest E175s with first class, premium class and main cabin seating.

Delta is beefing up its east coast presence with new service from Boston to Florida. On February 18, Delta will begin twice-daily service from Boston to Tampa, and on February 17 it starts weekend-only (Saturday and Sunday) flights from Boston to Ft. Myers. (JetBlue also flies both routes.) Both routes will use Airbus A319s.

An American Eagle/Republic E175 will fly from Washington D.C. to Northwest Arkansas. (Image: American Airlines)

American Airlines plans to expand at Washington Reagan National in the spring. On April 4, it will kick off new daily American Eagle/Republic Airlines service from DCA to Northwest Arkansas Airport in Fayetteville (near Walmart headquarters) with an Embraer 175. And on the same date it will begin twice-daily American Eagle/PSA Airlines service from DCA to Grand Rapids, Mich., with CRJ 200s; and daily Eagle/Republic roundtrips from DCA to Pensacola, Fla., with an E175.

Meanwhile, American this month began new American Eagle/SkyWest daily CRJ 700 service between its Phoenix hub and Santa Fe, N.M. American used to fly to Santa Fe from Los Angeles, but discontinued that service in 2015. It also serves Santa Fe from Dallas/Ft. Worth. And speaking of Los Angeles, American has decided to discontinue its three-year-old non-stop service between LAX and Pittsburgh as of February 14.

OneJet uses small Hawker 400XPs on short-haul routes. (Image: OneJet)

One airline that’s growing at Pittsburgh is OneJet, which operates small business jets in regional markets under public charter rules. OneJet plans to begin daily PIT-Richmond service March 1, followed by daily PIT-Albany flights March 22. It already flies from Pittsburgh to Hartford, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Louisville and Cincinnati.

Frontier Airlines, which introduced seasonal flights last year from Cleveland to four West Coast cities, is bringing them back in 2017. In April, Frontier will add service from Cleveland to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland, with flights operating three or four days a week and fares starting as low as $79 one way.

>In this post: How I bid my way to a first class upgrade on Virgin America and a Trip Report (with photos) about my experience…

Last week I used my Virgin America Elevate points (26,000 of ’em!) to buy a roundtrip economy class ticket between San Francisco and Washington, DC– and I lucked out in both directions.

Here’s what happened:

About a week before my trip, I received an email from Virgin America inviting me to bid on an upgrade to first class for the return leg (DCA-SFO) of the trip. Since I knew I’d be tired and ready to kick back after an very busy three-day trip, I thought “hmmm I deserve this, let’s check it out.” It had been a long time since I had enjoyed a transcon flight in Virgin’s big marshmallow white seats, and I knew I’d appreciate the space, service, meal and cocktails on the evening return flight.

Plus, I thought that it could be the last time I’d fly on the “real” Virgin America since its takeover by Alaska seems imminent.

I was psyched to receive the upgrade offer because I’d booked my economy class roundtrip a little late, and the seat selection was poor. I had aisle seats, behind the wing, in both directions. Yuck. So I bit. And I clicked on “Make an offer” and found out that I could only get the upgrade on the return flight. Still, an upgrade in one direction is better than no upgrade at all, right?

The click led to a screen that asked me to name my price for the return flight– but it would not allow me to submit a bid for less than $400. It included a helpful little toggle switch that helped gauge my “offer strength” and also showed a photo of those big leather marshmallows to tempt me.

$400 seemed high to me, so I had to think about it. A few hours later, I decided, once again, “I deserve this.” So I went back and made a bid at the cheapest possible price: $410. If I got it, fine, if I did not, no biggie. I’d suffer at the back of the plane. This was a “free” ticket anyway since I’d used my points, right? What’s another $410? Plus, when I checked, roundtrip first class flights were running at about $3,000 roundtrip on Virgin America.

Once I submitted my bid, I received another email saying that my bid was under consideration- and that I could modify it or cancel it at any time. I liked that. I did not feel like I was stuck. I could up my bid, or I could bow out completely. Virgin said that my credit card would only be billed if my bid succeeded, and that they’d email to let me know if I’d won.

This all took place on Tuesday. My outbound flight departed Thursday morning, and the return was Sunday evening.

When it became time to check in for my flight on Wednesday, I took a quick look to see if any better coach seats have opened up. Lo and behold, one had: a non-reclining exit row window seat 9F– yes! Since it does not recline, Virgin does not charge extra for it, and I don’t ever recline in economy anymore, so I grabbed it. I also noticed that the middle seat next to mine was empty and hoped it stayed that way.

And you know what? It did stay empty! When the door to the plane closed, the guy in the aisle seat and I did a fist bump 🙂 An empty seat next to you on an exit row is almost as good as first class, right? Well, kinda. But I was able to stretch out, get some work done, use the middle seat tray table for overflow. The 4-5 hour flight passed quickly, I had a nice fast Gogo internet connection, a protein plate for lunch (my favorite Virgin meal) ordered from the seat back.

Dear Alaska Airlines: Figure out a way to preserve and expand Virgin’s seatback food and drink ordering system. After eight years, no other airline has copied it and it works so well– for both passenger and crew.

I was in DC for a meeting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As I struggled through a sunny bright DC Saturday morning stuck in a windowless conference room, I remembered my bid for first class on the flight home. A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with an email:

Wooo hooo! I got it! I won the bid! I went to check my options and settle on seat 1A. I felt like standing up in the middle of the meeting and giving myself a high five! I’d be flying home in style. My favorite hometown airline had come through for me. So here’s how that went:

Boarding the flight was fast and easy at Washington Reagan National. There are only eight seats in Virgin’s first class. Only one was empty for the the flight to SFO.

First thing I noticed was how old the plane felt. It must have been one of Virgin’s original A320s. I could tell by the older version of inflight entertainment, the scuffs and scrapes on that big white seat and surrounding area. (It did not look as pristine as the Virgin-supplied photo above.) Looking out the unpolished, murky window, I could see paint chips on the big red engine under the wing. While still nice, the hippest, coolest airline in the world looked a little long in the tooth. Alaska Air is going have to give some of these planes a nip and tuck here and there to keep up the Virgin image.

A little work with my bloody mary and mixed nuts (Chris McGinnis)

Service was great as usual. One of my favorite things about flying Virgin is how the pilots, in their black uniforms, stand at the head of the cabin to make pre-flight announcements. It’s interesting and reassuring, and I hope it’s a touch that Alaska Airlines keeps.

Three choices for dinner in Virgin America first class (Chris McGinnis)

Flight attendants helped stow my carry on since I was in the bulkhead. They also distributed huge black pillows and comforters– these are seriously large and cozy. I declined, however, since I knew I’d be working on this flight.

Citrus and Persian cucumber with prosciutto starter salad- nice but the sections of lime were too sour (Chris McGinnis)

Overall, I feel like that $410 was money well spent. I got plenty of work done on the flight. Once again, I had a speedy Gogo connection— fast enough to upload photos, which is rare. I arrived back in SFO in good shape after the 5 hour slog.

I’m going to miss Virgin America. It will be tough to say goodbye to our fun, sassy, innovative, high-style airline. But I believe it will be in good hands with Alaska, which seems to have an open mind about integrating the best parts of the Virgin experience.

What do you think about losing Virgin America? Did you ever get to fly upfront? Ever play the upgrade bidding game? Please leave your comments below.

In recent airport news, Denver solves a big problem, CLEAR keeps expanding; Chicago unveils plans for more gates at O’Hare; JetBlue makes a big change in passenger procedures at JFK; airlines move around at Milwaukee; and Baltimore/Washington adds a unique new traveler amenity.

Denver International has a big problem: Two of its largest carriers, Southwest and Frontier, do not offer in-seat power outlets at all. United’s power outlet offerings are spotty at best, and in many cases, the only way to get inflight entertainment is via personal devices since many United planes no longer have seatback screens. That means that Denver fliers are frequently scrambling to get a good charge on the ground before they find themselves powerless in the sky. To help travelers get charged, DIA recently installed nearly 10,000 charging points throughout the airport. Charged up there recently?

CLEAR’s new logo

The CLEAR trusted traveler program, which now has Delta Air Lines as a minority stakeholder, continues to expand its presence at U.S. airports. The company has opened new CLEAR lanes at Washington Dulles and Washington Reagan National airports as well as Seattle-TacomaInternational. Last week the company announced that its next airport will be Detroit– not surprising since Delta has a hub there. CLEAR charges a $179 annual membership fee and uses biometric technology to verify travelers’ identities at its airport lanes. (Delta frequent flyers can get big discounts, though) Once they go through the lane, bypassing the regular TSA lines, members proceed directly to screening; those who also belong to TSA PreCheck go to that station, and those who don’t go to regular screening stations. With these additions, CLEAR now has a presence at 16 U.S. airports.

In Chicago, there’s even more development coming at O’Hare International. Earlier this year came news of new runway construction, five new gates being added for American Airlines, and plans to develop two on-site hotels at the airport. Now the city says it will add nine new gates to O’Hare’s International Terminal (T5), a $300 million project that will grow the terminal’s capacity by 25 percent. It’s the first expansion of T5 in 23 years. And that’s not all: The city also said it will redevelop O’Hare’s Terminal 2 into “a new central terminal within the existing terminal complex.” The project could involve a new Customs facility, a departures hall with more space for TSA screening, additional concessions and other passenger amenities. Longer term, “the planning contemplates new concourses to be constructed to the west as airline passenger demand dictates,” the mayor’s office said. It did not give a timeline for completion of the new projects.

JetBlue has added more self-service options at its New York JFK Terminal 5 home base. (Image; JetBlue)

At New York JFK, JetBlue has completed a major overhaul of its check-in and ticketing lobby area in Terminal 5. The focus is on passenger self-service, with 70 check-in kiosks, along with a new feature: self-service baggage tagging and a dozen stations where customers can drop off their tagged luggage. The overall lobby space has also been expanded by 75 percent, and plenty of JetBlue staffers are on hand to help customers familiarize themselves with the new kiosks and procedures.

Travelers passing through Milwaukee’s Mitchell International will see some changes in the weeks ahead, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The newspaper said that in mid-August, Air Canada will move from Concourse C to Concourse E, and United will do the same in early September. Southwest will remain in Concourse C. The newspaper said the moves are being made in preparation for a longer-term project that will see Concourse E – the airport’s smallest – eventually converted into a facility that will handle international flights. The airport’s existing international terminal is in a separate building not connected to the main passenger concourses.

Baltimore/Washington International plans to open a new passenger facility this fall that is available at other major airports: a full-service health club. Operated by an Oregon-based start-up called ROAM Fitness, the 1,200-square-foot facility will offer equipment like treadmills, stationary bikes and free weights. It will also have shower facilities and will rent workout clothes to customers.

Today I received my annual renewal notice from CLEAR, and once again the decision wheel began to roll in my head. Should I? Or shouldn’t I? $179 is a lot, but think about the few times when CLEAR has come to the rescue when an unexpected line popped up at airport security. I’ve had good success with PreCheck this year, so is it worth it?

But now CLEAR is now in 12 airports, and just today, it announced that it will soon be in both Washington, DC airports, National and Dulles. Plus last week it said it was moving into Seattle-Tacoma. (We’re still waiting to hear how Delta will deploy CLEAR at its hubs)

Renewal email from CLEAR- but wait, do I really have to pay $179?

And then I remembered that Delta now offers membership discounts to its SkyMiles members: Delta Diamond Medallion members get complimentary CLEAR enrollment, while Platinum, Gold and Silver Medallion members it for just $79. Even general members get a nice discount: annual membership for just $99.

So I replied to CLEAR with this query: Hello: Now that Delta is offering discounts for SkyMiles members, I’d like to continue my CLEAR subscription with them at the lower annual price. How do I go about doing that?

Promptly, CLEAR member services replied with a YES! Dear Christopher, Thank you for contacting CLEAR. To add your Delta Skymiles to your CLEAR account, you will need to send us your Skymiles number. We will check the rate, then add that to your account.

Sweet! With a $100 discount, ($79/year vs $179) the decision is made and I’ll renew my CLEAR membership for another year. What about you?

United will use a 787 for a second daily SFO-London flight. (Image: United)

In international route news, United will boost its London schedules from San Francisco and Los Angeles while cutting back from Houston; also, United this week launches its promised New Zealand service; Lufthansa kicks off its delayed San Jose inaugural; Brussels Airlines rolls out a premium economy class; Wow Air adds another U.S. gateway; and a Mexican low-cost carrier adds a Chicago route.

United Airlines announced plans to add a second daily San Francisco-London Heathrow flight to its schedule starting October 30. The new LHR flight (UA900/901) will depart San Francisco at 4:15 p.m., using a 219-passenger 787-8 with BusinessFirst, Economy Plus and regular economy seating. Also on October 30, United will trim its schedule from Houston Bush Intercontinental to London from three daily flights to two, although it will use larger 777-200s on the remaining IAH flights instead of the current 767-300s and 787s. Then next spring (effective April 5), the airline will lay on a second daily Los Angeles-LHR flight (UA60/61), using a 252-seat 787-9. That flight will leave LAX at 3:10 p.m.

Meanwhile, July 1 is the launch date for United’s newest transpacific route, from San Francisco to Auckland , New Zealand. The carrier will use a 787-8 to fly the route three days a week, then will expand capacity starting October 28 to daily frequencies that use a larger 787-9. United has slated a 10:45 p.m. departure time from SFO for the 13-hour, 10-minute (westbound) flight. United will operate the route as part of its Star Alliance partnership with Air New Zealand.

Lufthansa will use an A340-300 on its new San Jose-Frankfurt route. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

Another new Bay Area international route starting up this week is Lufthansa’s non-stop service from Frankfurt to San Jose. Originally planned to begin on April 29, it is now set for a July 1 launch. Lufthansa will operate the route five days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday), using an Airbus A340-300 with business class, economy, and premium economy seating. This plane, which is smaller than the A340-600 on SFO-Munich, has 18 business class seats, 19 premium economy seats and 261 economy seats– no first class. Even though SeatGuru.com shows the seats on the A340-300 to be of the old “angled lie flat” variety, a Lufthansa spokesperson tells TravelSkills that the planes have been reconfigured with the carrier’s latest, greatest true lie-flat offering, like what you’ll find on its A380 and A340 flying from SFO. Currently, fares from both SFO and SJC to Frankfurt appear to be identical: about $5,200 round trip in business class, $2,700 in premium economy, and about $1,300 for economy.

International premium economy seating continues to proliferate; the latest carrier to add that feature is Brussels Airlines, which is due to start offering it July 1 on the Airbus A330s that it flies to its U.S. gateways (New York JFK and Washington Dulles) from Brussels. The new seating option, located in the first four rows of the economy cabin, offers extra legroom and seats that recline more than twice as far as regular economy seats. It also provides enhanced in-flight services and amenities. The carrier is offering the new seating for a surcharge of $139 one-way until September 15, when the price will rise to $169.

Elsewhere in the New York area, Icelandic low-cost carrier Wow Air – which recently started flying from San Francisco and Los Angeles — said it will add Newark Liberty International to its route map on November 25, offering daily flights to Reykjavik and connections to the U.K. and Europe. The airline will use A321s or A330s on the new route, depending on the season. One-way fares to Iceland will start at $99, with service to European capitals from as little as $149.

Mexico’s low-cost Volaris Airlines has kicked off a new route linking Chicago O’Hare with Monterrey, Mexico. The carrier will operate the service twice a week (Mondays and Fridays), using a 174-passenger Airbus A320.

American’s new service to Seattle from LAX has plenty of competition. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news this week, American has a big growth spurt at Los Angeles International, and adds new routes from Dallas/Ft. Worth and Tucson; Delta announces a pair of new markets in the western U.S. and adds an East Coast route; United revives some Cleveland routes but drops two California flights; and Southwest plans five new non-stop routes this fall.

It’s a big week for American Airlines at Los Angeles International, where the carrier has started more than 20 new flights to a number of domestic destinations. As part of its build-up at LAX, American is adding two more gates and hundreds of employees there this year. New destinations added to its LAX schedule this week include Seattle (five flights a day in a busy market already served by Delta, Alaska, Virgin America, United and Spirit), Portland (three a day), and Minneapolis-St. Paul (two a day), as well as single daily roundtrips from Los Angeles to New Orleans, Kansas City, Omaha and Hartford. American also added seasonal daily flights from LAX to Anchorage, and weekend service to Durango, Colorado; and will operate summer flights to Jackson Hole, Wyoming every day and to Montrose, Colorado and Vail/Eagle, Colorado on weekends. With the schedule additions, AA now operates more than 220 flights a day at Los Angeles.

Delta will use E175s for new San Diego-Las Vegas service. (Image: Delta)

Delta Air Lines has set a December 17 start for new service linking San Diego and Las Vegas, a market thoroughly dominated by Southwest. Delta plans to operate three flights a day on the route, using Embraer 175s. And at its Salt Lake City hub, Delta plans to revive service this winter to Aspen, Colorado after a six-year hiatus. The Delta Connection/SkyWest flights will operate once a day with a CRJ700, starting December 17. On the East Coast, meanwhile, Delta just announced plans to begin flying between Newark Liberty International and Raleigh-Durham beginning November 6, using two-class CRJ-700s for three flights a day, operated by Delta Connection/GoJet.

United has been seriously downsizing the former Continental hub at Cleveland Hopkins, but it plans to operate seasonal flights to Florida again this winter, in spite of new competition from several low-cost carriers, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It said the airline will offer seasonal service from CLE to Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers from December 16 through early April. Meanwhile, United will end a couple of California routes, according to Routesonline.com. It will drop its daily Los Angeles-New Orleans service effective August 16, and its daily flights between Ontario and Houston Bush Intercontinental (operated by SkyWest) at the end of June.

In addition to the two new routes it will add from San Jose starting November 6 – to Salt Lake City and to Baltimore-Washington International – Southwest Airlines said that on the same date it will begin new service between Washington Reagan National and Providence, Rhode Island; Washington Dulles and Orlando; and Kansas City and San Antonio. The airline has already started taking reservations on all the new fall routes.

United this week kicks off San Francisco-Singapore non-stops. (Image: Grand Hyatt Singapore)

There’s a lot of news about international air routes this week. United is due to start a record-breaking transpacific service on June 1, and will increase frequencies on another long-haul route out of San Francisco; United is also launching seasonal Europe routes from the East Coast and dropping its only service to Africa. Meanwhile, Delta will revise its partnership arrangement with Virgin Atlantic in 2017, and will add a new transatlantic route from Portland; Atlanta welcomes new service from a Middle Eastern carrier; Swiss delays the deployment of its fancy new wide-body to San Francisco; and low-cost carrier Norwegian adds a Las Vegas route.

On June 1, United is due to begin the longest scheduled route by any U.S. carrier – an 8,446-mile flight from San Francisco to Singapore. United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner for the new service, which will save travelers an estimated four hours in each direction compared with existing one-stop or connecting flights. The schedule calls for an 11:25 p.m. departure from SFO for the 15.5-hour westbound flight (16.3 hours eastbound). In another long-haul development from San Francisco, United said that starting October 8, it will increase frequencies on its SFO-Tel Aviv route from three a week to daily service; United also uses a 787-9 on that route.

In other international route news at United, the carrier is blaming a slump in global energy markets as well as government currency restrictions for its decision to terminate its daily flights from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Lagos, Nigeria after June 30. Meanwhile, United has started seasonal summer flights to Europe from the East Coast, offering daily service from its Newark hub to Athens (using a 767-300), and daily flights from Washington Dulles to Barcelona (with a 767-400) and to Lisbon (using a 757-200).

Portland International will get its first London non-stops from Delta next spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

Delta just announced a new transatlantic route for 2017, with plans to start operating seasonal service between Portland and London Heathrow effective May 26-October 29. It will fly the route four days a week with a 767-300ER. Delta said it will also revise its joint scheduling arrangement with partner Virgin Atlantic next year. The existing Delta flight from Seattle to London will switch over to a Virgin Atlantic 787-9 starting March 26, increasing capacity by 50 seats a day; on the same date, Virgin’s single daily fight from Detroit to London will be replaced by a second daily Delta flight. And on May 25, Virgin will take over Delta’s New York JFK-Manchester route, with Delta picking it up again the following winter; and Delta will take over one of Virgin’s two daily Atlanta-London frequencies, giving Delta a total of three a day and Virgin just one.

In other news, Delta last week kicked off new year-round service from New York JFK to Edinburgh, Scotland. Delta started the route with a 757-200ER, but will switch to a larger 767-300ER for flights from June 8 to September 5.

Qatar Airways will use an A380 super-jumbo for its Atlanta inaugural flight.(Image: Qatar Airways)

As we’ve mentioned before, June 1 is the launch date for new Qatar Airways service from Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson to Doha, Qatar – a move that has seriously irritated Delta. Although Qatar’s plans call for a 777 to fly the route on a regular basis, it reportedly intends to use an Airbus A380 for the maiden voyage. So far, Qatar is still a member of the Oneworld global alliance, which should make for easy connections at ATL with American Airlines flights.

According to Routesonline.com, which tracks airlines’ official schedule filings, Swiss has decided to push back the deployment of its fancy new 777-300ER on the San Francisco-Zurich route. Instead of bringing the new aircraft into SFO service on August 30 as previously planned, the aircraft won’t start flying the route until February 16, 2017. Meanwhile, on October 30, Swiss will put a 777-300ER into service between Zurich and Miami on four of its 14 weekly flights in that market, replacing an A330-300.

Low-cost European carrier Norwegian plans to expand its presence at Las Vegas on October 31 when it begins new twice-weekly flights to London Gatwick, using a 787 and offering introductory one-way fares as low as $199 (plus add-ons, of course). Norwegian already flies from Las Vegas to Copenhagen and Stockholm, and plans to add LAS-Oslo flights in November.

There are lots of developments in international services this week. United started a new China route; Air Canada kicks off a San Jose route; European carriers begin new transatlantic service from LAX, Oakland, Salt Lake City and Denver; a Chinese carrier sets the date for new Seattle flights; Chicago gets a new transpacific option; and a South American carrier comes to Washington D.C.

United Airlines on Sunday started its newest transpacific route, linking its San Francisco hub with Xi’an, a city of 8 million in central China; it’s the only non-stop service between the U.S. and Xi’an. United will fly the seasonal route three times a week – through October 27 – using a 787 Dreamliner. Westbound flights depart SFO on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:25 p.m. The westbound flight takes a little over 13 hours.

Low-cost European carrier Norwegian is set to begin its previously announced Oakland-London Gatwick service on May 12. The carrier will use a 787-8 with economy and premium seating, offering non-stop service three times a week. Norwegian’s initial fares on the route started at $299. On May 10, Norwegian increases Los Angeles-London Gatwick service from three flights a week to four.

On May 9, Air Canada kicks off new non-stop service out of Mineta San Jose International Airport to Vancouver. The Canadian carrier will offer two daily roundtrips using CRJ705 regional jets with 10 seats in business class and 65 in coach. Speaking of Vancouver, Air Canada recently announced it will begin a new ultra-long-haul route there on October 20 with non-stop service to Delhi, India operating four days a week with a 787-9 Dreamliner.

This is the Captain Kirk seat– one of the two best seats in Aer Lingus biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Aer Lingus last week kicked off Los Angeles-Dublin flights — the first of three new U.S. routes it will be adding this summer. The year-round service from LAX operates four times a week, using an Airbus A330-200. Later this year, the Irish carrier plans to begin new daily flights from Newark starting September 1, and new service from Hartford in late September.

Instead of resuming seasonal service this year between Amsterdam and Dallas/Ft. Worth, KLM opted instead to go with Salt Lake City, where it started flying last week. Its transatlantic joint venture partner Delta also serves the SLC-Amsterdam route. KLM started off with twice-weekly flights Thursdays and Saturdays, and will add a Monday departure on July 4. It’s using an A330-200 on the route. KLM also plans to add seasonal Miami-Amsterdam service in late October.

May 11 is the launch date for new Lufthansa service between Denver and its Munich hub; the German carrier already flies from Denver to Frankfurt. The new Munich service will operate five days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday), using an Airbus A330—300 with four classes of service, including premium economy, for the 10-1/2 hour flight. The eastbound flight leaves Denver at 4:05 p.m. Easy connections to the new route are available through Lufthansa’s Star Alliance partner United, which has a hub at DEN.

China’s Xiamen Airlines, a member of Delta’s SkyTeam global alliance, has started taking bookings for its new Seattle-Xiamen route, which will begin September 26. The new service will operate three days a week via an intermediate stop in Shenzen, using a 787-8.

Taiwan’s EVA Air plans to launch new service on November 2 from Taipei to Chicago O’Hare, flying the route four times a week with a 777. EVA also will increase its Taipei-New York JFK schedule effective October 3 from the current 10 flights a week to twice-daily service.

A LATAM 767-300 with the carrier’s new livery. (Image: LATAM)

South America’s LATAM Airlines last week started its newest U.S. route, linking Washington Dulles with Lima, Peru – the only non-stop service between the two capital cities. LATAM will initially offer three flights a week, using a 767-300 with business class and regular economy seating.

Virgin America has started flying to Hawaii from Los Angeles. (Image: Virgin America)

In domestic route news, Virgin America kicks off a new Hawaii service, JetBlue will jump into a busy Northeast Corridor market, California’s Surf Air has a new pricing option, Delta adds a route from Washington D.C., and Sun Country Airlines comes to Denver.

Virgin America Airlines continued its expansion in the Hawaii market by launching new daily non-stops this week from Los Angeles International to Honolulu. It will add more new Hawaii service next month, with plans to start flying from LAX to Kahului Airport on Maui as of June 14. The carrier already flies from San Francisco to both destinations in Hawaii. To promote the new Los Angeles routes, Virgin has launched a Hawaiiscape sweepstakes for Elevate members, offering free flights, hotel stays and 50,000 Elevate points. Members who enter at www.MakeYourHawaiiscape.com by May 27 will get 250 Elevate points.

JetBlue is planning to start flying this fall between New York LaGuardia and Boston Logan, a market thoroughly dominated by Delta and American. The carrier set an October 31 start for the service, which will offer six flights a day on weekdays between LGA and BOS, with lighter schedules on weekends. That will give JetBlue customers the option of flying to Boston from any of New York’s three airports. JetBlue said it will also take advantage of the FAA’s decision to open up slot controls at Newark Airport by adding more frequencies this fall from Newark to Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Ft. Myers. Meanwhile, JetBlue this week added Nashville to its route map, launching two daily roundtrips from there to Boston and one to Ft. Lauderdale.

Surf Air, which promotes itself to California travelers as an “all-you-can-fly private air travel club,” is offering a new lower-priced membership option through the end of this month with no initiation fee. The new Explorer Membership is priced at $850 per month, with a minimum three-month commitment. It includes one monthly roundtrip flight to any Surf Air destination. A regular membership starts at $1,950 a month. The company operates executive private aircraft around an intrastate network that includes airports in the Bay Area, metro Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Truckee/Tahoe, Napa, Monterey, Sacramento, Palm Springs and Las Vegas.

Delta Air Lines plans an August 1 start for new Delta Connection service between Washington Reagan National and Raleigh, according to Airlineroute.net. The carrier will offer four flights a day on the route, using CRJ900s operated by GoJet Airlines.

Sun Country Airlines, a niche carrier based at Minneapolis/St. Paul International, this week kicked off new service between Denver and MSP. The carrier operates one daily roundtrip in the market, offering Denver-originating passengers eastbound connections to Boston, Washington D.C. and New York JFK.

Alaska Airlines and American are launching a big code-sharing expansion. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news, American and Alaska expand code-sharing, and AA adds a Washington D.C. route; United sets a pair of new San Francisco routes and seasonal service out of Newark; Delta ends a year-round Alaska option; Frontier starts a big expansion at Atlanta and Chicago; a small carrier begins two new Pittsburgh routes; and a private jet charter service begins Atlanta-area operations.

With Delta keeping the pressure on Alaska Airlines at the latter’s Seattle hub, Alaska and American Airlines are planning a significant expansion of their code-sharing partnership. Effective April 28, American will put its AA code on Alaska flights from Seattle to Atlanta, Charleston (S.C.), Nashville, New York JFK, Raleigh, Sun Valley and Washington Reagan National, as well as Alaska flights from Los Angeles to Baltimore/Washington, Monterey, Salt Lake City and Washington Reagan National. Then on May 15, Alaska’s code will show up on 14 AA routes out of Charlotte, nine out of Chicago O’Hare, 27 out of Dallas/Ft. Worth, and scores of additional AA routes out of Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington Reagan National. In other developments, American plans a July 5 start for new daily service between Washington Reagan National and Lansing, Michigan, using a two-class, 76-seat American Eagle regional jet.

On September 8, United Airlines plans to add a new spoke from its San Francisco hub by launching daily service to Omaha, Nebraska with a 76-seat Embraer E175. United already flies to Omaha from its Denver, Chicago, Houston and Newark hubs. In another SFO schedule enhancement, United will operate seasonal daily service to Aspen, Colorado from June 9 through August 15. Meanwhile, United also plans to add seasonal service from its Newark hub to Bangor, Maine from July 1 through October 29 using a 50-seat regional jet.

Turkish Airlines landing at San Francisco International Airport (Chris McGinnis)

Delta has suspended its seasonal New York – Istanbul flights due to security concerns, weak bookings and cancellations. However, Turkish Airlines’ daily ATL-Istanbul flights are set to begin on May 16. Last fall, Delta decided to operate its Seattle-Juneau, Alaska route on a year-round basis, but now the airline has changed its mind. Delta now plans to end SEA-Juneauflights on August 31, with a resumption of seasonal service in 2017.

Low-cost Frontier Airlines has kicked off a big wave of new routes. At Atlanta, Frontier this month started flying to Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, St. Louis and Memphis, and resumed seasonal service to Austin, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Trenton. At Chicago O’Hare, Frontier started flying to Charlotte, Kansas City, Nashville, Portland, St. Augustine (Fla.), Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul, and revived seasonal flights to Austin, Philadelphia, Washington Dulles, Raleigh-Durham and Trenton. Frontier also added new service from Cleveland to Portland (Ore.), Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Many of the new flights operate just a few days a week.

A new private jet option for Atlanta’s northside (Image: JetSmarter)

The private jet company JetSmarter plans to begin Atlanta-area operations on May 3, offering twice-weekly flights to and from Westchester County, N.Y. and weekly roundtrips to Ft. Lauderdale. The flights operate out of DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK), using Falcon 2000 jets that seat up to 10 passengers. The company uses app-based reservations; it charges a $3,500 initiation fee and an annual membership fee of $9,675, but imposes no other cost for its flights.

OneJet, which specializes in serving small to medium-sized markets with small jets, will expand at Pittsburgh in June, launching twice-daily roundtrips to Hartford on June 8 and two daily roundtrips to Milwaukee beginning June 14. The company will also double its Pittsburgh-Indianapolis schedule from two flights a day to four as of June 14. OneJet promises its customers TSA PreCheck access, expedited boarding and high-speed in-fight Wi-Fi.

United will start flying to Nashville from San Francisco this spring. (Image: VisitMusicCity.com)

In domestic route developments, United will add a new spoke from its San Francisco hub; American plans more new routes for April; Delta will launch Alaska service; JetBlue starts a new route to Puerto Rico; and Spirit unveils expansion plans.

United Airlines has set a May 5 inauguration for new service from its San Francisco hub to Nashville, according to Airlineroute,net. The carrier will operate one daily roundtrip using an Airbus A319.

In addition to new service we reported on from Washington Reagan National, American Airlines on April 5 also plans to start flying from its Chicago O’Hare hub to Norfolk three times a day and to Providence twice a day; both routes will use Envoy Air CRJ700s under the American Eagle banner. On the same day, American will launch two daily flights between New York LaGuardia and Kansas City, with Republic Airlines/American Eagle Embraer 170s.

Delta set a May 13 start for summer seasonal service from Portland International to Anchorage, Alaska, a market it hasn’t served since 1997. Delta will fly the route four times a week with a 737-900ER.

On May 5, JetBlue plans to start flying from its Ft. Lauderdale focus city to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on the island’s northwest coast, using an Embraer 190 for the daily flight. On the same date, JetBlue will increase frequencies between Boston-Ft. Lauderdale and Boston-Baltimore/Washington International.

Low-cost Spirit Airlines set an April 21 start for twice-daily flights between Baltimore/Washington International and Boston, and one daily roundtrip between BWI and Detroit Metro. In addition, Spirit will operate seasonal daily service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Boston from April 28 through September 7, and from MSP to Philadelphia April 14-November 9.

In domestic lodging developments, downtown San Francisco gets a new property; a Philadelphia classic reopens with a new identity and a new chain affiliation; Starwood opens a Westin in the heart of Dallas; there’s a new Hyatt Place in the nation’s capital; and InterContinental Hotels Group cuts the ribbon on another Holiday Inn in Manhattan.

In San Francisco, the former Powell Hotel — across from the cable car turnaround at the base of Powell Street, near the BART station– is being transformed into a new identity as the Axiom Hotel, and a representative tells TravelSkills it’s expected to open its doors to guests in mid-January. The 152-room boutique hotel — now owned by Host Hotels — will have a bar and cafe in the lobby and a Library nearby, and lots of original art work combining historical and high-tech themes. Other amenities include a business center, fitness center, and fiber-optic Wi-Fi throughout. Rooms have RFID locks, 48-inch smart TVs and refrigerators. We found rates starting as low as $199.

Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Hotel at Logan Square, which closed in June, has gone through a multi-million dollar transformation and reopened this month as The Logan Philadelphia, a member of Hilton’s Curio Collection. (These are independent hotels that participate in Hilton’s reservations system and its HHonors loyalty program.) The hotel’s 391 rooms include 64 suites with separate living and sleeping areas. The Logan has a 24-hour fitness center and business center, a spa, and a heated indoor pool, along with 12,700 square feet of meeting space. There’s even a library with a fireplace and pool table. Rates start at $233.

A king room at the new Westin Dallas Downtown. (Image: Westin)

January 4 is the starting date for reservations at Starwood’s new Westin Dallas Downtown, a 323-room hotel built into the 33-story One Main Place tower. The 326-room Westin will occupy the top 10 floors of the building as well as public space on lower levels, and will have a separate entrance on Elm Street. The rest of the building will be office and retail space. The hotel has a WestinWORKOUT fitness studio (guests can borrow workout clothes), indoor pool, restaurant, bar, coffee shop, and high-speed Internet, as well as 31,000 square feet of meeting space. Rates start at $217.

At 400 E Street SW in the nation’s capital, four blocks from the National Mall, is the newly opened Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall. It has 214 rooms with separate sleep and work areas, free Wi-Fi throughout, an outdoor pool, 24-hour gym, free hot breakfast, rooftop bar and 24/7 Gallery Menu & Market with freshly prepared meals and take-out items. Rates start at $169.

Guest room at the new Holiday Inn-Times Square in New York. (Image: Holiday Inns)

It’s actually a few blocks from Times Square at Eighth Avenue and 39th Street, but InterContinental Hotels Group’s newest property in Manhattan is the newly built, 35-story, 271-room Holiday Inn New York City-Times Square. It offers 24-hour business and fitness centers, a flight check-in kiosk, guest room charging stations, and a restaurant and bar (with 49 microbrews on tap!). Rates start at $118.

When legacy airlines merge, questions always arise about the status of the combined airlines’ hub operations — will they all survive? Even if they do, some hubs invariably go through a significant downsizing. And a new analysis of United’s Washington Dulles hub sees some troubling trends.

The analysis by Airways News notes that from mid-2011 through summer of 2015, United’s Dulles hub showed considerable shrinkage — from 300 flights a day to 230 and the hub faces “an uncertain future,” the report said.

What’s hurting United’s Dulles business? For one thing, the analysis notes, the merger of American and US Airways gave that combined carrier a bigger presence at ReaganNationalAirport (DCA), with more local travelers to switching loyalty from United to American. Also, slots that were spun off in that merger went to JetBlue, providing more low-cost route options at Reagan National.

Even worse for United’s Dulles business, Airways News said, was a number of exemptions the government allowed to DCA’s perimeter rule in 2012, bringing more longer-distance domestic flights to the much more accessible Reagan National.

“These shifts resulted in new flights/frequencies from Reagan to Portland by Alaska Airlines, Austin by Southwest, San Juan by JetBlue, San Francisco by United and Virgin America, Los Angeles by American…and Salt Lake City by Delta. These new beyond perimeter routes broke or weakened the O&D dominance for Dulles on these routes; traffic and revenue which United held the lion’s share of, ” the report said. (O&D refers to origin & destination traffic, i.e., trips starting or ending in Washington rather than connecting.)

United didn’t help its own Dulles cause when it merged with Continental, the analysis notes, since that gave it another big transatlantic connecting hub just a couple of hundred miles to the north, at Newark.

What’s the bottom line for Dulles? Because of Washington D.C.’s importance, United should show some “staying power” at Dulles, Airways News said. But it sees room for more contraction of domestic flights operations with most international routes preserved.

Does United need a hub at Dulles anymore? Please leave your comments below.

American’s Atlanta-Washington flights will use E175s with 12 first class seats and 64 in economy. (Image: American)

In domestic route news, American will start a new route out of Atlanta; Alaska Airlines adds another transcontinental route; a new air carrier offers regional service from New Orleans; JetBlue brings a new city into its network; and Frontier adds new rotues.

Atlanta travelers will get another option to the nation’s capital on January 5. That’s when American Airlines is due to begin new service from ATL to Washington Reagan National Airport, operating five flights a day with E-175s. Delta dominates the ATL-DCA market with 15 daily roundtrips, and Southwest has six. In June 2016, American plans to launch new seasonal service from Washington Reagan National to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.

Although ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines has been neglecting its home base of Denver in the past year as it moved into a number of new markets elsewhere, it is apparently getting back to its roots next March, when it will begin service from Denver to Charlotte and Denver to Philadelphia.

A new company called GLO said it will start regional airline service out of New Orleans‘ Louis Armstrong International Airport next month, operating on a public charter basis and using 30-passenger Saab 340B twin-engine turboprops provided by Corporate Flight Management. The initial schedule calls for twice-daily flights on weekdays to Little Rock, Memphis and Shreveport. “GLO was born out of the recognition that travel options in the South are incredibly limited by existing air carriers,” said company founder Trey Fayard. For details, go to www.FlyGLO.com.

Newly renovated United Club at Washington National Airport (Photo: United)

United recently completed renovations of its United Clubs at Washington (Reagan National) and Hong Kong. It says that it will complete similar renovations or add new clubs at Tokyo (Narita), Atlanta (T-gates) and San Francisco later this year.

The carrier says its new Club at Washington National stands out for its new furnishings with the art deco design. In Hong Kong, loads of natural light bathe the loft-style room design.

“We are making investments of more than $100 million in our clubs around our network and have made great progress this year in opening two brand new clubs at Reagan National and Hong Kong,” said Premium Services Managing Director Mike Landers.

Freshly renovated United Club at Hong Kong International (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

United says that the new clubs reflect the look and upgraded amenities found at its most recently renovated ones at Chicago O’Hare,London Heathrow, San Diego, Boston and Seattle.

At SFO’s Terminal 3, United currently operates two United Clubs– a nice, new but temporary and windowless one on the mezzanine level of main part of the terminal, and an older facility out by the gates. The brand new state-of-the-art United Club will open this fall near the entry to the new T3 Boarding Area 1 gates.

In Atlanta, United’s Club on Terminal D is now closed. United has said that a new club will open in the desirable T-gates area of the airport, but has not revealed a specific location.

Have you visited a renovated United Club? What did you think? How do they compare to others?

“The Birth of the American Flag” dominates the hotel’s atrium. (Photo: Christian Molina)

Marriott opened its 4,000th property (!) on May 1, The Marriott Marquis Washington, DC, which (at 1,175 rooms) is now the largest hotel in town. It is located on Massachusetts Avenue, on the northern edge of the city core, adjacent to the huge Washington Convention Center.

The mammoth property is Marriott Rewards Category 6 where a one-night stay will cost you 25,000-30,000 points. Rates in June range from $180 to $400 per night.

Ironically, the company’s 87-year history began with a more humble nine-seat root beer stand just up the street– a small replica of which turns out burgers, fries and root beer floats in the hotel’s cavernous lobby.

As can be expected with any brand new hotel, the hotel’s 11 TripAdvisor reviews (as of May 25) show plenty of praise, but also report uneven service issues and some kinks that still need to be worked out.

Check out these five cool features of the newest Marriott Marquis:

1. Art and architecture is meant to wow. The hotel’s 40,000-square-foot roof is all glass, so natural light floods the atrium and lobby (A.K.A. The Greatroom). Interior-facing rooms take advantage of this light. Exterior-facing rooms have views of downtown Washington, D.C. A 56-foot high, 27,000-pound sculpture, The Birth of the American Flag (above), by Baltimore-based sculptor Rodney Carroll is the largest piece of artwork in any Marriott Hotel. Even the lobby floor is art: a cherry blossom branch inset in the white marble.

2. The hotel has exactly what business travelers really care about: super fast, reliable wi-fi. Marriott installed a cutting edge DAS System (Distributed Antenna System) in this hotel to guarantee a strong wireless signal. (We prefer free everywhere, but Wi-Fi is $12.95 per day in guest rooms and complimentary in public spaces.) In the lobby, outlets and USB ports are plentiful. In guest rooms, you can stream your own content from your tablet or smartphone to the room’s interactive super-TVs. And just about anything can be done with your phone, from mobile check-in to ordering up room service.

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3. The M Club Lounge for Marriott Rewards Silver and Gold Elite members sounds spectacular. And it’s open 24-hours, a cool place to work or get a bite to eat when you’re jetlagged and can’t sleep or to get assistance from the concierge. There’s even an outdoor terrace to get some fresh air. Have you experienced an M Club yet? Marriott Gold and Platinum members get in free. Others can pay $20. Recently we’ve received a lot of positive comments from TravelSkills readers pleasantly surprised about the new M Club….please leave your comments below.)

The 1,126-room Marriott Marquis is located on Massachusetts Ave by the city’s massive convention center, north of The Mall (Rendering from Marriott)

4. The 8,000-square-foot bi-level fitness center has the latest equipment and technology—but in a historic space. It is located in what was originally the Samuel Gompers AFL-CIO building: The hotels’ new exterior enwraps the historic building. The fitness center’s Technogym equipment is also used by the military in their training.

5. The hotel is as deep as it is tall. (That’s 96 feet down…and up, with 15 above-ground floors.) Meeting space that is below-grade manages to incorporate natural light in the corridors that filters down from stories above.

Bonus! Because when you’re in the nation’s capital, you might as well imbibe it, so we couldn’t resist adding: Cocktails in the hotel’s Dignitary lounge are based on past presidents’ favorites. Andcheck out this infographic with cool stats on the hotel.

Editor Chris McGinnis

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